CHAPTER FOUR - TARA
I was back in that hospital room, leaning over Caleb’s body. This time, we were alone. I hadn’t seen him since we were teenagers. He looked better than ever. His body was bigger, muscles bulging from beneath his hospital gown. My eyes roamed freely over his strong arms, imagining the way they would feel wrapped around my body.
He threw the blanket off himself, letting me trail my eyes down his body. His abs were so tight and defined that I could see them through the gown. I swallowed hard, desperate to rip that thin fabric from his body. His dick was hard, making a tent between his legs. I slid my hand up his thigh, barely grazing the tip of his rock-hard cock before I pulled away.
“Fucking tease,” he growled.
I grinned at him, my eyes locking on his. They were a deep green, darker than I remembered but even more alluring. I searched his face, taking in the sight of his five o’clock shadow and light brown hair. I’d pictured this same face a million times over the past few years but now, seeing it in person, I couldn’t contain myself.
His injuries were forgotten as I crawled on top of him. His hands gripped my hips and our kiss was electric. He sucked on my bottom lip, and I moaned against him, tasting him with a passionate desperation. We kissed long and slow, remembering what it felt like to be together.
Before I knew it, we were naked, fucking in that hospital bed. Caleb took me from behind, slamming into me with a wild abandon I’d never felt before. He slapped my ass and pulled my hair. He reached around to rub my clit, and I came so hard that I collapsed on the bed.
Caleb wasn’t done with me. He flipped me over and lifted me in his strong arms. Holding me against him, he slid me down on his cock. I cried out as we rocked into each other with renewed vigor. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. The sensations Caleb was creating inside my body were erotic and sensual. I moaned and screamed, crying out his name and reveling at the sound of my own on his lips.
Caleb clung to me, fucking me so hard and so fast that I soon saw stars. We both came, our orgasms mingling in a cloud of pleasure. I cried out, releasing my ecstasy into the air around us.
My eyes shot open. I was panting and sweaty, my hand tucked inside my panties. The dream had been so real, so believable that I felt like it was still happening. I rubbed my clit with frantic desperation, searching for the pleasure I’d felt just a moment before.
Caleb’s dark green eyes swam before me. I could still feel his arms wrapped tightly around my body, feel his throbbing cock inside me. My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I brought myself to orgasm. My legs twitched, and I moaned deeply as I came.
It was like Caleb was still right there, holding me and fucking me senseless. I moaned softly and slowly continued to rub my clit, circling my fingers over my dripping pussy and wishing it was Caleb’s fingers instead of my own.
When the waves of pleasure faded, I felt a profound sense of dread fall like a weight in my stomach. I removed my hand from my panties and sighed deeply, frustration and anger brewing at the back of my mind. What did I just do? How could I let myself fantasize about Caleb Lewis? After all these years, hadn’t I put him behind me? Hadn’t I let go of my feelings for him?
I chastised myself for letting him get to me. After one day, being around him one time, I was already back to imagining what it would be like to be with him. I felt like I was seventeen years old again, desperately in love with a boy I couldn’t have. What the hell was wrong with me? How could I let myself act this way again? I wasn’t seventeen anymore. I was a successful twenty-seven-year-old woman. Ten years had passed since the last time I felt Caleb’s lips on mine. He was my past, and I refused to let the memories of him overwhelm my present.
Determined to hold myself together, I jumped out of bed and hurried toward the bathroom. While I showered, I tried to wash away my dream. It had felt so real. I couldn’t shake it, but I knew I had to. Dreaming about Caleb wasn’t an option, not after everything he put me through.
Years ago, I thought Caleb was the love of my life. I convinced myself he was it for me.
When our parents first met, while working at the hospital, we didn’t even know each other. My mom died when I was young, and it had always just been my dad and me. Caleb was a trouble-maker who didn’t want anyone telling him what to do. We each thought it was the worst thing that our parents were dating. In a way, it was. It brought us together. We fell for each other so fast that we didn’t know how to handle it. Our emotions overwhelmed us, and soon, we were reckless in our desperation to be together.
We went so far as to plan an escape. We were going to run away together, leave home and our parents behind. Nothing was going to stop us from loving each other. Nothing except Caleb himself. He changed his mind and left me holding the pieces of my broken heart alone. I was destroyed.
I spent years repairing the damage Caleb caused, and I would be damned if I was going to let him back in now. He was nothing to me anymore. His mother married my father, but we were not family. I worked so hard to avoid seeing him for so many years. I missed countless family holidays and weddings if I knew Caleb was in attendance. Dad supported my decisions because he wanted me to keep my distance from Caleb more than I did. That in combination with Caleb’s military school schedule meant a decade of avoiding a run in. We hadn’t spoken in so long, and now he was my patient. I didn’t know how I would handle being in charge of Caleb’s PT, but I knew I wouldn’t shy away from it. My job was everything to me. Caleb wasn’t going to take that away.
Dad and I talked about me requesting another PT to be assigned to Caleb, but I made the decision that Caleb’s condition was the right challenge to help me excel in my rotations. I told myself that I’d spent enough years apart from Caleb and that I was over him for some time. It turned out that may not have been the total truth.
Why did the asshole have to be so hot? And on top of that a fire fighter who saves lives.
My dad and step mom always had a positive influence on me, because they saved lives for a living. They inspired me to pursue a career where I could do the same. It seemed apparent to me now that Caleb was also influenced by them in his own way. The thought put an involuntary smile on my face.
I got dressed quickly, throwing my wet hair in a bun and pulling on my scrubs. My determination was stronger than ever as I drove toward the hospital. Thankfully, I hadn’t had another headache in two days. I felt healthy and strong, ready to take on this latest challenge.
As I stepped inside the physical therapy office, I waved to my coworkers and sat down at my desk. My first session wasn’t for another two hours, and I had some paperwork to finish. I knew my office work wouldn’t keep me busy for long, but it was a distraction I desperately needed. I threw myself into it, not thinking about Caleb again until Joan came over to my desk.
“You got that firefighter, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Caleb Lewis?” I asked. “Yeah.”
“Lucky bitch,” Joan said, groaning with disappointment.
“What?” I asked.
“He’s so fucking hot,” Joan said. “I did my rounds this morning, and I peeked in on him. God, he is gorgeous.”
“He’s a patient,” I said firmly.
“A hot patient.” Joan laughed. I rolled my eyes and tried to keep my annoyance in check.
“I should probably go check in on him,” I said.
“Pinch his ass for me,” Joan said, wagging her eyebrows.
I ignored her and hurried out of the room. Anger was boiling inside me as I made my way to Caleb’s floor. I could barely see straight as I replayed Joan’s words in my mind. She was always that way, eager to throw herself at any hot doctor or patient who looked her way. It was exhausting but also entertaining. Until now.
I clenched my fists at my side as I thought about her hitting on Caleb. Shaking myself, I tried to relax. What did it matter if Joan hit on Caleb? I didn’t care who he dated. It wasn’t my business, and it never would be. With that thought in mind, I squared my shoulders and stepped into his room.
I walked quietly toward his bed. He was asleep, tucked deep beneath his blankets. I watched him for a second before I turned my attention to Cathy. She was sitting beside his bed, wearing her nurse’s scrubs.
“Are you working today?” I asked, keeping my voice down.
She nodded. “I wish I wasn’t. I don’t want to leave him.”
“He’ll be okay,” I said, patting her shoulder. “He has a team of doctors.”
“I know.” She sighed. “He’s still in so much pain, though. I worry they won’t take care of him if I’m not here to browbeat them into it.”
I laughed. “I’m sure Caleb can handle himself.”
“I’m glad you decided to keep him as your patient. I can’t think of anyone else who would do a better job. Are you here for his PT already?” Cathy asked.
“Not yet.” I shook my head. “Just making my rounds, checking on my patients.”
Cathy nodded, a knowing look in her eyes. I glanced down at my feet, suddenly unable to hold her gaze. My past relationship with her son wasn’t a secret. My dad and Cathy both knew about us. I always suspected that was why they insisted on sending him to military school ten years ago.
“I should get to work,” Cathy said, sighing and getting to her feet.
“I’ll check in on him in later,” I said, reassuring her. “He’ll be okay.”
Cathy nodded and left. I kept my eyes on Caleb for a few more minutes. I didn’t want him to be alone, but I knew I shouldn’t care. With a sigh, I forced myself to follow Cathy’s lead and get back to work. I had other patients to check on, and I couldn’t spend my entire day dwelling on the boy who once stole my heart and tore it to pieces.